For incoming freshman/first year students, college can sound very scary, but honestly, it really depends what one associates college with.

Before I left home, everyone told me that college will be some of the best years of my life, but all I could think about was that I would be spending hours upon hours doing homework, reading, and studying for tests, quizzes, and essays.

However, I have now realized that I was scared for no reason…yes, I actually have homework, and yes mom, if you are reading this, I do study.

For me, I have been able to accomplish almost all of my homework, studying, and writing essays between 8AM and 6PM on weekdays; this works great for me because it feels like a full time job versus school. After 6PM (the majority of the time), I have my homework and studying done for the day which allows for plenty of time to nap, read, hang out with friends, and explore Daytona Beach.

Please know that the work load depends upon your major, teachers, and the classes you take, and as the semester ends, the work load can increase a lot. However, if one keeps up with everything, the workload is manageable.

Some tips for success:

• Try not to get behind, but if you do, be sure that you communicate with your professor and work hard to catch up.
• Don’t procrastinate!
• Try to complete homework as soon as its assigned.
• Don’t start studying for a test the night before.
• Lastly, don’t stress too much! Make sure that you enjoy some downtime.

Overall, I have been pretty happy with the assignments I have had to do for my classes as I actually see how I will be able to apply what I learn in a future internship and job. In high school, I frequently would ask myself “when am I actually going to use this,” but now in college, I ask this question very rarely.

My professors have done an excellent job connecting the curriculum to the real world. For example, I remember asking myself if I will ever use Calculus after college, my professor explained and demonstrated how we can and will use Calculus to solve supply/demand situations.

Meanwhile, we had to create several graphs comparing two airlines based on several different measurements (number of flights, passengers, available seat miles, profit/loss, etc.). As soon as my professor started explaining the assignment, I immediately realized that I will be able apply this skill to my internship at Airways News this summer.

I guess it’s safe to say that I look forward to attending class–even though my day starts at 8AM everyday–since I see when I’ll actually be able to apply what I learn.

Until next time,

Jack